Culturally responsive evaluation and emergence: Shifting power through data that is humanizing, liberatory, and healing

In the process of developing a complicated, community‐driven evaluation initiative, Dr. Stafford Hood indicated the importance of allowing the project to “unfold as it should.” This indication of emergence is too often missing in the dialogue of what it means to do Culturally Responsive Evaluation. This chapter explores and elucidates the concept of emergence and presents two examples of how it has influenced evaluation practice and enhanced the ongoing application of culturally responsive frameworks. The authors provide examples rooted in Dr. Hood's childhood home community while showcasing the power of simple interactions, fluidity, and attending to contextual and human nuances.